A place for a tired old woman to try to figure things out so that the world makes a bit of sense.

Monday, October 08, 2012

Things That Make Me Gag

Is it really too much to ask that our news sources stick to delivering real, actual news? I'm not talking about doing away with the comic section or entertainment sections. They're fine and are usually labeled appropriately. It's when the front page or the television news hour blurs the distinctions in order to increase the audience that I get sickened.

Media and their ethical norms have changed so much in recent times that no one seemed to miss a beat when ABC announced that it had invited would-be First Lady Ann Romney to sit in next week as a guest host on what ostensibly remains a news program — the network’s “Good Morning America.”

A time existed not that long ago when news outlets kept an arm’s length from the subjects they would cover. But both “GMA” and Romney have bigger priorities today — with the morning show in a daily race to unseat NBC’s “Today” as the a.m. ratings leader and Romney pushing hard to help her husband, Mitt, win the White House.

At least the show, which announced Romney’s guest hosting duties Thursday, signaled that it intends to treat both sides equally when it comes to line-blurring. It hopes to find a spot to bring First Lady Michelle Obama on as a co-host too. [Emphasis added]

I don't mind having Ann Romney on, but if Good Morning America is going to do that, then label it and treat it as an interview. This "guest host" gig is ludicrous, not to mention bovine excrement. And, no, trying to find a spot for Michelle Obama to "guest host" doesn't make it all better. It still blurs the line between the journalist and the subject. Or don't J-schools teach that anymore?